Shloka 65
शल्यपर्व — चतुर्विंशोऽध्यायः | Śalya Parva, Chapter 24: Disruption of Kaurava Formations and the Elephant Encirclement
तस्येषव: प्राणहरा: सुमुक्ता नासज्जन् वै वर्मसु रुक्मपुड्खा: । न चद्ठितीयं प्रमुमोच बाणं नरे हये वा परमद्दिपे वा,उनके अच्छी तरह छोड़े हुए सुवर्णमय पंखवाले प्राणान्तकारी बाण कवचोंपर नहीं अटवकते थे। उन्हें छेदकर भीतर घुस जाते थे। वे मनुष्य, घोड़े अथवा विशालकाय हाथीपर भी दूसरा बाण नहीं छोड़ते थे (एक ही बाणसे उसका काम तमाम कर देते थे)
tasyā iṣavaḥ prāṇaharāḥ sumuktā nāsajjan vai varmasu rukmapuṅkhāḥ | na ca dvitīyaṃ pramumoca bāṇaṃ nare haye vā paramadvipe vā ||
Sañjaya said: His life-taking arrows, well released and fitted with golden fletching, did not lodge in the armours; they pierced through and entered within. And against a man, a horse, or even a mighty elephant, he did not loose a second shaft—one arrow was enough to finish the deed.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how perfected martial skill can make killing swift and decisive; ethically, it intensifies the gravity of war by showing that excellence in arms, while admired in a kṣatriya context, directly amplifies the certainty and finality of violence.
Sañjaya describes a warrior whose arrows, golden-fletched and expertly shot, do not get stuck in armour but pierce through; he is so effective that he does not need to shoot a second arrow at a man, horse, or even a great elephant.